Thứ Tư, 18 tháng 1, 2017

The ACV made just $1 per passenger from retail
services last year, far behind regional operators.

Despite robust growth in passenger numbers, the state-owned
Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV), which operates the country’s civilian
airports, generated only $81 million from non-aeronauticalbusinessessuch as airport retail in 2016, or 15 percent of the annual
target.

Industry experts said the airport operator’s revenue
mainly comes from the aeronautical sector such as landing fees and passenger
service charges. Meanwhile it hasn't focused enough on non-aeronautical
business, especially the airport retail business.

The operator estimated its revenue from retail at $1
per passenger last year, far below the average of other airport operators in
Asia that reached up to $12.

Thailand’s AOT and Malaysia’s BHD raked in $4-5 per
passenger last year.

The ACV, which operates 22 civilian airportsin Vietnam, recorded significant
growth in passenger traffic in 2016 to an estimated 81 million, with Vietnam’s
airline market developing at the third-fastest pace in the Asia-Pacific region.

According to market research group Nielsen,
Vietnam’s airline market will be fueled by the middle and affluent class which
is forecast to rise from 12 million people in 2014 to 33 million by 2020.

However, ACV revenue lags behind it's Thai counterpart even
after factoring differences in passenger traffic. As of the end of the
third quarter of 2016, the ACV’s annual revenue was only equal to 40 percent of
Thailand’s airport operator AOT while passenger traffic made up as much as 68
percent.

The proportion of international arrivals at Vietnam’s
airports is about 30 percent of total passenger traffic, compared to 58 percent
in Thailand and 48 percent in Malaysia, while service charges on international
travelers are higher than those for domestic passengers. That partly explains
why the ACV is so far behind many of its competitors in the region in terms of
revenue.

Airports Corporation of Vietnam, which is currently valued
at $1.2 billion, is one of Vietnam’s biggest state-owned enterprises.

Last year, the ACV raised $51.6 million by
selling a 3.47 percent stake in an initial public offering where foreigners
snapped up 82 percent of the shares on offer.

France's Aeroports de Paris SA has emerged as
the front-runner to buy a 20 percent stakein the HoChi Minh City-based
company, according to the Transport Ministry. The deal is scheduled to take
place in March.